


your hands are tough, but they are where mine belong

by KOG4NE



Series: atla one shots [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Implied Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Pai Sho, Past Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Post-Canon, Post-War, Slow Burn, except not really, stop trying to assassinate zuko pls, they're not enemies but they're not friends either, throwbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27833128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KOG4NE/pseuds/KOG4NE
Summary: the stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is oursormai wasn't good at expressing herself. it didn't use to be a problem when she was traveling the world with azula, but now that she had to be an actual functional human being at the palace helping zuko out, it was harder. which lead her to a few awkward situations with the head of the kyoshi warriors,, some awkward, some confusing, and some ready to make mai forget everything her parents ever taught her
Relationships: Mai/Suki (Avatar)
Series: atla one shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037190
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	your hands are tough, but they are where mine belong

**Author's Note:**

> i listened to ours by taylor swift for an hour on repeat writing this,, anyway,, this pairing? *chef's kiss*

It all started after Mai dumped Kei Lo, and she and Zuko decided to work on actually having a friendship. It was nice not having to live up to her parents' crazy standards breathing down her back. They always wanted her to marry Zuko; what could possibly be better than being Fire Lady, right? It didn't feel right, and as soon as they sat down together, they both agreed there was no future there, at least not romantically. She quickly realized that everyone was expecting them to get back together, though, and she noticed the Fire Sages talking about her like she was already Fire Lady. Mai wasn't worried about that in the slightest, if worried was the right word. Both she and Zuko didn't have time to think about producing heirs or spending eternity together, not with Zuko almost being murdered every week. Those did worry her. She understood that not everyone was as quick to accept Zuko as their Firelord, but after twenty-four assassination attempts, maybe they should take the hint and give up.

_"Uncle suggested I ask the Kyoshi warriors to help out, you know, since getting assassinated isn't on my bucket list."_

_Mai simply shook her head. Of course, she supported it; she didn't want Zuko dead, but having to tell him that once again?_ **_Not happening_ ** _. It had only been Zuko and her at the palace lately. The Avatar and Katara came and went as they pleased, and Toph would come whenever Zuko needed her lie detector skills. Sokka would stay now and then as well, taking pride in his title as Southern Water Tribe Ambassador (Mai noticed how he and Zuko would send each other looks whenever they could, and she planned on using it as blackmail against her best friend when she needed to), but most of the time, it was just the two of them._

_She didn't mind, but it did get boring, and having a few girls around couldn't hurt? They all bonded, which to Mai meant being able to stand them, earlier when Tom-Tom had been kidnapped. There could be worse company; he could've asked for Azula._

_"I guess it would be nice to have Ty Lee around again. I miss her."_

She had been right; having Ty Lee around again gave her some sense of normality. It wasn't the same as hunting Zuko and The Avatar around the world, but something was so soothing about the sheer horror she felt when Ty Lee would randomly hug her from behind, claiming she missed her that day and needed to tell her everything.

Someone who had genuinely surprised her, however, was Suki. They didn't exactly have the best track record, considering Mai had her thrown in Boiling Rock and tried to kill her a few times, also impersonated a Kyoshi Warrior to take over Ba Sing Se - well, the list went on. They had bonded over Pai Sho when the war first ended, but they didn't talk after that. Suki didn't seem to like Mai. Which annoyed the fuck out of the girl. She knew she could be, closed off, but Suki made her seem like the worst person in their group, even when she was sitting next to multiple war criminals _._

It was simple; Mai wasn't going to try to be her friend if she didn't want to be. She might've gone out of her way to avoid Suki, only heard ideas from Ty Lee and disagreeing with her whenever she felt like it. She hadn't realized how badly it pissed Suki off, though.

_"Why don't you like me?"_

_Mai looked up from the book she was reading to Kyoshi Warrior makeup, which still made her jump a bit. She didn't enjoy this at all. There she was, completely defenseless, reading a book as Suki leaned over her, her fan in her hand. "I've never said that," Mai said as she finally managed to compose herself, not wanting Suki to be able to tell she was extremely uncomfortable with her lack of upper hand._

_"You go out of your way to ignore me. You shut down my ideas before I'm done telling the Fire Lo-"_

_"Just call him Zuko; you won't get your head chopped off." Mai snapped back, letting her know she still had some power._

_"Can you shut up!?" Suki's voice cracked, but both girls decided it was better to simply ignore it. "You shut down my ideas before I'm done telling the Fire Lord about them, which is such bullshit because you KNOW he'll listen to you over us no matter what. You disrespect me, you disrespect Kyoshi, and you're disrespecting Zuko by not respecting his guards."_

Ever since that interaction, Mai had a newfound respect for Suki. And that's when it truly began. 

Mai had been stuck in another meeting with Zuko, who always joked about how he had to bring her as his future Fire Lady. She didn't care; it was the same every time. She found herself wondering if the meetings had at least been fun when they were going to war. At least something was happening. Nowadays, it was mostly arguing about what the other nations could do for the Fire Nation and what they wanted in return. Mai had let her eyes move over to Suki, who was standing against the wall, her eyes glued on Zuko. She found herself wondering if she was bored, if she missed the fighting they had done during the war the way Mai did. 

Of course, Mai was happy the war was over, and Ozai was defeated, but Agni, she missed the action of it all. 

_"Fuck! I'm sorry!" Suki didn't seem to care that it was two am when she decided to swear in Mai's face after spilling what could only be Zuko's cold tea all over her silk night robes. Luckily, Mai had years of training to keep herself calm in a crisis, both from her parents and dealing with Azula. Letting out a louder than a usual sigh, she simply shook her head, looking at the green-eyed girl._

_"And why are we spilling tea in the middle of the night outside the Firelord's sleeping quarters?" She raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "Is this Zuko's revenge? Did he send you to finally make me regret choosing Kei Lo? Please tell him he should've done that before I broke up with him." Her tone was playful. She could tell Suki hadn't meant to do it, and there was no reason for her to throw a fit- she wasn't Azula after all._

_"Shit, Mai. I'm sorry." Suki's mumbled, not sure what to do. They hadn't really had a one-on-one conversation since Suki confronted Mai about her behavior, and to say they both had been avoiding being alone together seemed like an understatement. Mai didn't see Suki without her Kyoshi Warrior makeup a lot, and maybe it was the way the moonlight seemed to hit her, but Suki looked beautiful._

_She knew Suki was beautiful, of course (She had listened to Sokka rant about it a billion times when they were still together), but she had never thought about it the way she was thinking about it now. The Suki standing in front of her wasn't nearly as intimidating as Kyoshi Warrior Suki, and maybe that's why Mai felt so comfortable. She wasn't reminded of the confrontation._

_"Look, Suki. Don't worry about it. I'll get someone to clean it in the morning." She said with a comforting smile, biting her lower lip. "I'll see you around, get some sleep."_

Mai couldn't stop staring. It had been two weeks since their late-night encounter, and since then, whenever Suki was in the room, Mai's eyes were glued on her. With every day feeling the exact same, she found comfort in Suki's presence. It made her day,, interesting. Suki would occasionally look over at Mai as well, and although she would never admit it, especially not to Zuko or Ty Lee, Mai could feel her cheeks redden every time.

_She had almost forgotten why the Kyoshi Warriors were there until once again she was refused access to Zuko's room, for his safety._

_"Are you assuming I'll kill him!?" Her voice was sharp as she yelled at the two girls in front of her._

_"Lady Mai, that's not it.."_

_"If I wanted Zuko dead, he'd be dead. Trust me, I've had a billion chances." She growled back at them. Zuko had sent her to a meeting by herself, and she needed to tell him all about it. She was pissed, and after spending a good two hours being talked down to by generals, she was planning on letting Zuko know._

_"Zuko!" She thought about pulling her knives out but figured it wouldn't help her out of this at all. As the door opened, she tensed up, ready to speak her mind, only to be met by Suki. Their faces inches apart, Mai was absolutely clueless as to why she came in the first place. Whatever Suki came out to say seemed to have left her mind as well, as they were both staring. They hadn't been nearly as close as this before, but especially not after they started the, flirting? they had been doing for weeks during meetings. Mai didn't think they would be either; she figured it was just something fun they had been doing to keep themselves occupied._

_"The Firelord is busy." Suki finally managed to get out, stepping back to get a clearer view of Mai._

_Fine, step back, so I don't need to stare into your beautiful green eyes._

Suki had found her later that night, explaining the situation and how it had sent Zuko into a panic and how she needed to summon not only Sokka but Iroh as well. As they sat there, Suki's hand had ended up in Mai's. Neither of them acknowledged it, but it was nice. Yeah, it was _nice_.

Mai had never thought about sexuality a lot. Growing up, being attracted to the same gender wasn't an option in the Fire Nation, so she simply didn't think about it. Then she was pushed on Zuko, and she didn't need to think about it; she was set for life. And then they broke up, and they spent countless hours in his room talking about life and death and everything in between.

_"Do you think you're attracted to the same gender?" Mai asked, cutting Zuko off as he spoke about how confused he'd been meeting Toph for the first time._

_"What?"_

_She couldn't help but laugh as he seemed to choke on his tea, not seeing the question coming at all._

_"I said, do you think you're attracted to the same gender at all?"_

_"Yeah, I know I am?" He seemed so confident in his answer, and Mai could tell he was thinking about a certain boy as he said that. "What about you?"_

_"When Ty Lee, Azula, and I were traveling around looking for you, I didn't know where we stood. We hadn't seen each other for years, and Azula acted like we had never been apart. But things had changed, and the dynamic wasn't the same anymore. You know how Ty Lee is, how" Mai's entire body shivered, "affectionate she is. I didn't realize it at first, but the way I felt when she acted that way? I wanted to kiss her. So I did. We kissed when we were in Ba Sing Se, when you and Azula were off pretending to kill the Avatar. It was nice? In the way that I realized I didn't hate kissing girls, but I definitely hated kissing my best friend."_

Mai thought about kissing Suki. She thought about it a lot. She thought about it when she smiled at her or when she perked her lips when thinking. She never thought to act on it, though. Her having any attraction to girls was a secret between her, Ty Lee, and Zuko. Although he had made same-sex marriage legal as he became Firelord, people still weren't the biggest fan of it. Besides, she didn't know the same-sex culture in the earth kingdom. She didn't even know if Suki was attracted to women.

_Walking through the palace halls, Mai was bored. Not her regular kind of bored, but a bored she hadn't felt since living in Omashu. In fact, if someone wanted to assassinate her today, she'd be forever grateful._

_Zuko was in meetings with the other nations and the Avatar all day, which left Mai to her own devices. It usually wasn't a big deal; she loved being alone, but today? It was torture._

_"Mai!"_

_She turned around quickly to see the Kyoshi Warrior running towards her as quick as she could. Before she could truly react to what was happening, she was pushed against the wall, their lips connecting. Mai froze. She had no idea how to respond to the situation unfolding, but after a second or two of complete shock, she allowed herself to melt into the kiss._

_Kissing Suki was nothing like kissing Ty Lee or Zuko. It was soft but so passionate and rough at the same time. As Suki slipped her tongue into her mouth, Mai let out a sound she never would've allowed herself to let out normally, but she didn't care. As they finally pulled away, Suki rested her forehead on Mai's, a grin on her face._

_"Hi."_

_Mai rolled her eyes, she might've been a good kisser, but she was still a complete moron. "I thought you'd be in meetings with Zuko. Who knows, maybe Katara has finally had enough and stabs him."_

_"Eh, I had more important issues to deal with."_

After that, Mai and Suki would sneak kisses in the hallway whenever they could. It made Mai feel like a kid again, sneaking around, but she didn't mind this time. Living secretive was alright when the reward was lips as soft as pillows. In the end, Mai was a noblewoman, and people still expected her to give Zuko an heir for some insane reason. They hadn't been together for four years; let it go.

Suki was a new experience. She wasn't the safe, obvious choice. She was the girl who'd randomly pick Mai up from the ground to push her against the wall, only to tell her she was pretty, then walk away. She wasn't able to speak about Suki without blushing, something both Zuko and Ty Lee picked up on, and Mai cursed herself for allowing herself to have feelings.

But Suki was different. She made feelings exciting.

_"Be quiet!" Mai whisper yelled as she ran down the hallway, a tight grip around Suki's wrist. She wasn't the one to take the lead, but she needed Suki alone before Zuko's next meeting, and bringing her to her own room was too risky, so she decided on an empty meeting room instead. Pulling Suki with her under the table, they both sat there until Suki burst out laughing. "Why are we hiding under the table?" Her voice was soft, and it made Mai's stomach flutter._

_"I just wanted my girlfriend for myself for a second! Zuko's keeping you busy with all these assassination attempts, and I don't think it's fair." She said, allowing herself to frown._

_"I got it; I will make sure to tell the Firelord that I cannot keep saving his life because my girlfriend is needy."_

_"Shut up."_

_Suki pressed her lips against Mai's, pulling her closer by her collar. It wasn't like Mai to act out, to run around the palace, stealing kisses with the head guard, leaving her room at one in the morning just to look at the stars with Suki. She felt like Ty Lee, something the girl would definitely take offense by as she still thought Mai's aura was pale. She wondered what she would say about her aura when she was around Suki because if Mai were to say, she'd suggest the brightest of red._

_Time seemed to pass with your girlfriend's tongue down your throat, and Mai hadn't even heard the door open at any point._

_"Uh, I don't know how to say this, but," Zuko's voice was about ten times as awkward as it usually was, "I need this room for my meeting."_

After Zuko found out, there was no point in hiding it at all, mainly because he told every. Single. Person. They knew. Mai almost had a heart attack when even Iroh had stopped her to ask about Suki, saying how he'd love to play Pai Sho with them sometime.

The nobles weren't as happy about it, of course. She heard them as she walked around, talking about how embarrassing it must be for Mai to be attracted to girls, and she was just as mentally unstable as Azula. But it didn't bother her. She had learned to not care about what anyone else said.

It was a funny thing; Mai had spent years trying to live up to her parents' insane standards for her and being scared of speaking out. Now she was able to walk into her aunt's flower shop holding her girlfriend's hand. Her insanely pretty, insanely talented Kyoshi warrior of a girlfriend.

" _There will be so many people here tomorrow, Mai. I don't get what they're thinking throwing a party, inviting all the nations, it's crazy."_

_"Honestly, I think Zuko just misses his friends. This is all a part of his and Sokka's plan to get the rest to the palace. You know they're unable to ask like normal people." Mai chimed in from the bed where she was sitting, reading her book. Not having to sneak around anymore meant actually sharing a room, which was something Mai wasn't used to at all. She liked being alone, but she didn't mind being alone with Suki. Suki didn't bother her one bit; she felt like an extension of her._

_"I know you're right, which makes it worse, you know." Suki groaned as she sat down on the bed next to Mai, who shot her a half-smile. "Tell me anything. Give me some good news before I give myself to Druk for dinner."_

_Mai looked at her, unable to hold a grin back. Suki was the most fascinating person she had ever met. She was so selfless, so funny, so beautiful. So easy to love._

_"I love you."_

_Suki's face lit up as she pressed her lip's against Mai's, unable to stop smiling. Pulling back, she tucked a piece of Mai's hair behind her ear, humming softly._

_"I love you, Mai."_


End file.
